Free Ben the Bear From Miserable Roadside Zoo

Jambbas Ranch Tours—a substandard roadside zoo in Fayetteville, North Carolina—has been cited numerous times by state and federal authorities for failing to provide animals with basic necessities, as required by law. Ben, a bear kept at Jambbas, has been confined to a tiny concrete and chain-link cell for years. Ben—like other animals at Jambbas—is deprived of everything that is natural and important to him, and he shows signs of stress, boredom, and frustration. His head sways, he paces, and he bites at the chain link. He wants out, and we need your help to see to it that he is freed.

PETA has been trying to help Jambbas' animal victims since August 2010, but multiple Cumberland County representatives—including the county's animal services department, the county attorney's office, the sheriff's office, and more—refused to lift a finger, despite a county law that prohibits holding bears and other exotic animals captive. Because of the county's refusal and failure to uphold its own law, a concerned citizen swore out a summons against James Bass, the ranch's owner, for unlawful possession of Ben the bear, a fox, a raccoon, and an alligator.

Unfortunately, in a stunning display of http://fayobserver.com/articles/2011/04/01/1083140">favoritism, the county Board of Commissioners caved in to Bass' own request that the county's prohibition on possessing exotic animals be amended to exempt his facility. Rather than upholding a law protecting animals from just what Jambbas subjects them to, the commissioners simply changed it!

In an effort to get commissioners to repeal this absurd amendment, more than a dozen people—including a renowned bear behavior expert—attended a recent board of commissioners meeting, and many spoke at the meeting too. But the http://fayobserver.com/articles/2011/04/19/1087839">board made no move to reverse its decision, leaving Ben and other animals to suffer.

Thank you to those of you who wrote to District Attorney William West and urged for prosecution of Bass—you made a difference. The case was continued until July 11. But the animals languishing at Jambbas still need your help.

Please email members of the Cumberland County Board of Commissioners and politely request that they reverse the amendment made to the ordinance at James Bass' request. Ask the board to allow Ben and the fox, raccoon, and alligator held captive at Jambbas Ranch Tours to be placed with reputable facilities that are equipped to provide them with the suitable care and environment that they need and deserve. PETA has offered to relocate these animals to sanctuaries at no cost to the county.